a financial establishment that uses money deposited by customers for investment, pays it out when required, makes loans at interest, and exchanges currency: [as modifier]:a bank account
a stock of something available for use when required:a blood bank figurativeBritain has a bank of highly exportable skills
a site or receptacle where something may be deposited for recycling:a paper bank
(the bank) the store of money or tokens held by the banker in some gambling or board games.
the person holding the bank in some gambling or board games; the banker.
verb
[with object] deposit (money or valuables) in a bank:she may have banked a cheque in the wrong account
[no object] have an account at a particular bank:the family has banked with Coutts for generations
informal win or earn (a sum of money):he banked £100,000 for a hole-in-one
store (something, especially blood, tissue, or sperm) for future use:the sperm is banked or held in storage for the following spring
Phrases
break the bank
(in gambling) win more money than is held by the bank:winning the pools was the equivalent of breaking the bank at Monte Carlo
[usually with negative] informal cost more than one can afford:at £30, the shirts won’t break the bank
Phrasal Verbs
bank on
rely on confidently:the prime minister cannot bank on their support
Origin:
late 15th century (originally denoting a money dealer's table): from French banque or Italian banca, from medieval Latin banca, bancus, of Germanic origin; related to bank1 and bench
